Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,722 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,795 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Vericel worth $1,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $136,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Vericel by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,582 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Vericel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $197,000. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, SVP Sean C. Flynn sold 8,115 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.33, for a total value of $367,852.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,570.11. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.59, for a total transaction of $780,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,708,739.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Sean C. Flynn sold 8,115 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.33, for a total transaction of $367,852.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,570.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,567 shares of company stock valued at $2,552,702. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vericel Price Performance

NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $46.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -511.61 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.82. Vericel Co. has a 1-year low of $30.16 and a 1-year high of $53.05.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.08. Vericel had a negative net margin of 1.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.55%. The firm had revenue of $65.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vericel Co. will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on VCEL. TheStreet raised shares of Vericel from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Vericel from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.40.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of cellular therapies for sports medicine and severe burn care markets in North America. The company markets autologous cell therapy products comprising MACI, an autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane for the repair of symptomatic, and single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee; Epicel, a permanent skin replacement humanitarian use device for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns; and NexoBrid, a biological orphan product for eschar removal in adults with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns.